


Piece by Piece

by Katybug1992



Series: Piece by Piece [1]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No Dialogue, angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23032306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992
Summary: Robby may not have his dad, but he did have ten dads on his team AND the Tkachuk family.
Relationships: Robert Thomas & Keith Tkachuk, Robert Thomas/Matthew Tkachuk
Series: Piece by Piece [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726480
Comments: 1
Kudos: 39





	Piece by Piece

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Kelly Clarkson's song "Piece by Piece" but especially the chorus:
> 
> But piece by piece he collected me  
> Up off the ground, where you abandoned things, yeah  
> Piece by piece he filled the holes  
> That you burned in me at six years old  
> And you know  
> He never walks away  
> He never asks for money  
> He takes care of me  
> 'Cause he loves me  
> Piece by piece he restored my faith  
> That a man can be kind and a father could stay

Robby didn’t remember much about his dad. He wasn’t around much when he was growing up, but he vividly remembered watching his dad get into the taxi. He was six years old and he couldn’t sleep. His parents had been fighting and suddenly the front door had slammed. He got out of bed and went to the window, watching as his father walked out to the waiting taxi in the pouring rain and threw his suitcase into the trunk before getting in and the taxi drove away.

He knew his dad wasn’t coming back. His mom informed him and his brother that their dad was moving to LA, to open a new restaurant, and he probably wasn’t coming back. And Robby had lived with that. He focused on as he got older hockey, the effort paying off when London drafted him and then a few years later when St. Louis drafted him.

When he got called up, the Tkachuks insisted that he live with them - which was a great relief for his mother. And he settled into life with the Tkachuks easily. He had known them going on three years, had been dating Matthew for almost a year, and they had embraced him as part of the family. He had one home game and then a California road trip. He had hesitantly asked if Keith could go along with them, or at least to the game in LA. And Walt agreed quickly, grinning widely.

Robby had about two hours before he needed to take his pre-game nap and through some googling he found that the hotel wasn’t far from his dad’s restaurant. And Walt fell into step with him without him even needing to ask if he would come with. They walked the two blocks in silence, Walt saying that he would wait outside for him. 

The first sign that it wasn’t going to go the way he wanted was when his father looked...disappointed….to see him. Robby had smiled and gotten a frown in return. Robby tried to put on a brave face as he told his dad he had gotten called up and that Coach thought he had a good chance of him staying. And his dad remained looking unimpressed and confused about why Robby was there. When Robby asked, begged, him to come to the game that night, and left defeated. 

Keith threw an arm around him, pulling him into his side, as they walked back to the hotel. When Robby said that maybe if he was better, his dad would come back into his life, be proud of him, Keith stopped them and hugged him tightly, telling him that he didn’t need to be anything but himself, that he was already good enough and that his dad didn’t know what he was missing out on. Keith told him that he was proud of the player Robby was growing into, but he was even prouder of the man he was growing into - making Robby laugh by saying that he could do so much better than Matthew.

That night, Robby got his first goal and no one in that arena was prouder of him than Keith, who had been in the press box, talking with Kerbs and Joey, being interviewed and assisting with calling the second period. After the game, Keith pulled Robby into a hug and told him how proud he was of him. And Robby clung to him tightly, Keith repeating that he was so proud of Robby, that Robby played a solid game, that Robby deserved this chance, and that Robby was going to do so many great things. Robby blinked rapidly when he felt his eyes getting wet and he clung to Keith before pulling back and letting his team sweep him out to the bus, O’Ry promising to sneak him drinks from the bar they were going to.

Chief walked past Keith and clapped him on the shoulder, telling him that his third son was doing great. Keith chuckled but agreed. When they got back to the hotel, David told him that they would look after Robby like he was Matthew or Brady and Keith responded that they better look after him better than that, getting a laugh out of the younger man. 

The season continued, they got better, Robby got better. And Keith begins to think that maybe Robby’s teammates have passed him in how proud of him they are. He’s the youngest by a couple years and they do definitely act like it at times. If someone takes a run at Robby, he pays for it dearly on the following shift. Jaden is the first one with encouragement if Robby’s not happy with the way he played. Petro is everything that a Captain should be, even-tempered and supportive but willing to light a bit of a fire. O’Ry is fascinated by watching Robby grow more and more with each day, each practice, each game. Steener is always available if Walt isn’t. And Keith was never happier that this Blues team was a veteran group.

Robby often wondered what it would take for his dad to want him, to be proud to call him his son. He got his answer when they won the Cup and he got a phone call the next day, the call he had been waiting for for most of his life. He pulled himself away from his teammates, away from his boyfriend and his brother, and answered it. And his heart plummeted at the realization that it took winning the Cup for it to happen, that his dad didn’t even watch the game. His dad asked if he wanted to bring the Cup to his restaurant but when he asked if his dad wanted to come to St. Louis for the parade and the answer was no, the call didn’t last much longer. He hung up and walked to Matty and Brady, who had separated a bit from everyone else and let them crush him in a hug for a minute, giving a small, fake smile that he knew that they saw straight through.

When Robby rejoined his teammates, grinning genuinely when Jaden threw an arm over his shoulders - because he could never fake happy to Schwartzy, the vet just brought it out - and looked back briefly at Matthew, who had the soft smile that he only ever had when he was thinking sappy thoughts about Robby, and realized that his boyfriend had somehow gotten ahold of his phone. He thought briefly that he should be worried, especially when Matty was clearly planning something with Brady, but didn’t have time to dwell on it as O’Ry distracted him with a beer and watched Eddy try to get Colton to take his shirt off. Screw his dad, he thought as he remained sandwiched between Schwartzy and O’Ry, he had at least ten dads on his team AND Keith Tkachuk. 

He knew Matty had blabbed about his dad calling because as soon as they were through the front door, he was swept into a hug by Mama Channty. He hugged her back tightly, clinging to her until Keith joined the hug and Robby broke down, all the pain he had felt over the years coming out as he sobbed, clinging to them like a lifeline as the Tkachuk kids made themselves busy.

When he had finally exhausted himself, Keith sat him on the couch and Matthew immediately plastered himself to his side, Taryn handing him a mug of hot chocolate - always the go to comfort drink for the kids in the house no matter what time of year it was - and took the spot on the other side of him with Brady settling on the floor against Robby’s legs. Keith ruffled his hair and headed to the other side of the house, pulling out his phone and bringing up the number that Matthew had sent him. It was time for a long overdue conversation. Because Robby was a good kid, was going to grow into an elite player, and he didn’t deserve a father who came into his life just when he wanted something.

And after he was done telling the other man exactly what he thought about him and what he was missing out on, he headed back into the living room and joined his family in watching “It’s Always Sunny” because Matty wanted to make Robby smile. And when it became apparent that Robby was flagging, the adrenaline that had powered him through last night and the activities today finally running its course, Keith told him to go on to bed, get a good sleep, and pretended not to notice Matthew slipping downstairs to join him.

The next morning, Robby extracted himself from Matthew’s grip (by some miracle without waking him) and headed upstairs. He jogged up the stairs and found Keith and Chantal making breakfast. Bee-lining toward Walt, Robby hugged him, “Thank you, dad, for everything.”

Walt looked surprised for a minute before hugging Robby back and whispering, “Anytime, Kid.”


End file.
